My 2011 Camry SE is at a southern location and ran by a neighbor maybe once a week with full AC etc. Parasitic drain is within reason and the battery is less than two years old. This is just background. I would like to install a solar trickle charger and have it be inside the car.
It does not seem like it would be as simple as plugging it into the cigarette lighter. I think I have to get some wires through the firewall but that looks pretty dicey.
Any advice on how I can install this? Thank you very much

 

You will need to tap into wiring that is constantly hot from the battery. There are some circuits that run into the car that are always hot.

Is the cig lighter constantly hot? Does the car have a power outlet that is constantly hot?

Find some kind of service manual having a wiring diagram such as Haynes. Toyota has a website at link below where for $20 you can download all the technical info you want for 2 days.

https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfo....toyota.com%2F

 

Thanks for the input!
The cigarette lighter is not hot when the car's off. I'm pretty sure there's not another outlet that is hot. I did see the "always hot" circuits while searching for parasitic drain. I have the Haynes manual - paper and downloaded electrical prints as well. Thing don't seem as easy to follow as an 84 Crown Vic or a 71 MGB. Maybe it's me or things were simpler then.
If I were using an "always hot" line, I'd have to be sure it was direct (sort of) to the battery and not via a computer? The wiring diagrams are not very specific as to what items they serve. I'll check out the Toyota link you gave me. Subscriptions are $20 for two days of "standard", and $65 for two days of professional. After reading what they offer, I think I'm good for the $20 subscription.
Thanks again!

 

Might look into something called "add a circuit fuse." This device plugs into a fuse socket (conventional blade type fuse) of the fuse holder then the removed fuse plugs into the device. Could tap off the Dome fuse,

All constant hot wiring ties together at some point before going to the battery. The Haynes manual wiring diagram may have a break down of the fused circuits. There may be a fuse box behind the dash drivers side, check owners manual.

The computer may have a constant hot source via the EFI and ETCS fuses.

Suppose you tap off the dome wiring and place the solar panel behind the rear view mirror.

 

The “add a circuit fuse” path is new to me and pretty slick! There is a fuse box in the passenger compartment too. Also, I just recalled I disconnected the remote starter (removed fuses); that must have a lead that is “always hot”.

Do you think the Toyota wiring diagram would be an advantage over the Haynes one?

Not sure what you mean by the EFI and ETCS fuses?

Thanks again!!!

 

Remote starter would be OK for a power source.

The Toyota manual provides much greater detail for wiring. Each of the cars circuits such as power windows, engine computer has its own detailed wiring diagram. For your purposes the Haynes is good enough. You only want to know which circuits are hot. Find the battery on the wiring diagram, then find which fuses get their power directly from the battery and this power does not first pass through an ign switch.

EFI and ETCS reference the labels on those fuses.

 

Got it! Thanks! I can't wait to give this a go in a few weeks.